Ck. weights

heavyBullet

heavyBullet

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So I am finally getting a RCBS 505 from someone on the EE, and have been reading up on scales. Seems I need check weights from what I have been reading. Where do you guys pick them up. I tried Digital Scales Canada, but almost fainted when I saw $25 shipping charge for a 5g and 50g weight. :eek:

Do I need a set of weights or can I get away with just a couple different weights ??
 
OK, here is my opinion again.
In 45 years of reloading I have never had weights to check a beam scale.
When you get the scale, set it on a flat, level surface. Move the adjustable weights to zero. If it is off, one way or the other from pointing to zero, adjust it so it points to zero. End of the story, it is set.
There is no way it can be out, unless it fell, or got damaged.
 
pull a couple 22 LR bullets with a pair of pliers, theres your 40 grain check weight, and your 80 grain check weight. That will cover the range (0, 40, 80) of most centerfire loads. Don;t sweat them being exact 40.000 grains. Just mark the one you use for 40, and your scale (and the loads you work up) will stay consistent.
 
Here is the thing...... You can't take a load from a book and put it into use..... You have to work up to it.

Ergo: you don't need check weight for your beam scale....... as long as it reads the same every time.

I do a little test..... Set your scale to zero, take the powder tray off the scale and then put it back on. If it still reads 0 you are good to go. Sometimes I will just bounce the scale (very lightly) if it settles back to 0 you are good to go. During the course of measuring powder every 20 to 30 loads I will take it to the weight I want then remove the tray (as if I was going to pour the powder into a shell) but then I will just put it back onto the scale, if it settles back to 0........ you guessed it... you are good to go.

I have used this test for the last 15+ years, it always settled back to 0..... untill this past January...... So I bought a new scale. Then I had to measure all of my old loads to see what they measure out to....... for the new scale. Much to my surprise.... they were all the same..... I would not have been at all surprised to learn that they were different, but thats the fun of this hobby.

Hope this helps.... (it may also help to be a little OCD)

Cheers!
 
$25 is probably one of the cheapest things you'll buy for reloading process.

Especially, in this case, for piece of mind.

I wouldn't recommend using bullets as check weights. You'd be surprised how much they vary from the manufacturers listed weight.
 
A couple mixed answers, but thats to be expected. Maybe all this ck. weight stuff has more to do with using a digital scale, rather than a balance beam one.

Sounds as if i was just to buy one 50g. weight for $1.50 for a test, and also do the "Set your scale to zero" test, I will be just fine.
 
Check weights are available from many different suppliers. Check fleaBay under "calibration weights" or

# Business & Industrial >
# Healthcare, Lab & Life Science >
# Lab Equipment >
# Lab Scales & Balances >
# Weights & Calibration Sets



There are a couple sellers from Canada that have sets of weights for less than $20 including shipping to Canada.

The precision of weights range from ballpark,(all of the cheap weighs) to sets where if you touch them with your fingers it will change their calibration, because your finger will leave oils (fingerprint) on the weight.
 
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heavyBullet said:
A couple mixed answers, but thats to be expected. Maybe all this ck. weight stuff has more to do with using a digital scale, rather than a balance beam one.

Sounds as if i was just to buy one 50g. weight for $1.50 for a test, and also do the "Set your scale to zero" test, I will be just fine.
Click to expand...

If you are worried about the absolute accuracy of the scale then buying a cheap, potentially unreliable check weight is useless. All you are doing is adding another potential error to the system. If you do buy a check weight, and I really don't think its needed for a balance beam scale, then get one that you can have some confidence in.
 
heavyBullet said:
A couple mixed answers, but thats to be expected. Maybe all this ck. weight stuff has more to do with using a digital scale, rather than a balance beam one.

Sounds as if i was just to buy one 50g. weight for $1.50 for a test, and also do the "Set your scale to zero" test, I will be just fine.
Click to expand...

A check weight on a beam scale mainly demonstrates long term repeatability.

As mdragon9 said above, get a good quality check weight if you want meaningful results.

And yes, calibration weights are more important for electronic scales than balance beam scales. Here is what the "Class" of the weights mean. Typical eBay Class M3 weights aren't very good. +/- 25mg = about +/- 0.4 grains

(If the table below doesn't show up, just refresh your browser)

 
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In my humble opinion, a great many of you new reloaders are absolutely scared of your shadow! You are taking caution and prudence far beyond the realms of senseability, with maters pertaining to reloading. A good example is this matter of check weights on a beam scale.
For a hundred years, at least, the world of commerce ran on beam scales, everthng from buying goods at stores, to farmers selling loads of wheat.
The properly calibrated beam scale does not make mistakes. It is acurate and the results have often been used in court cases.
A reloading scale, especially the top of the line quality ones like RCBS 505, are accurate and precise. At least 75 years of reloading was done exclusively with them. Check weights for reloading scales, I am quite sure, were never heard of until the digital scales came out. If you are worried about your scale, weigh several good quality bullets, as has been suggested.
So have fun, but remember, dodn't ever walk in the dark. No telling what may be out there to get you!
 
H4831 said:
In my humble opinion, a great many of you new reloaders are absolutely scared of your shadow! You are taking caution and prudence far beyond the realms of senseability, with maters pertaining to reloading. A good example is this matter of check weights on a beam scale.
For a hundred years, at least, the world of commerce ran on beam scales, everthng from buying goods at stores, to farmers selling loads of wheat.
The properly calibrated beam scale does not make mistakes. It is acurate and the results have often been used in court cases.
A reloading scale, especially the top of the line quality ones like RCBS 505, are accurate and precise. At least 75 years of reloading was done exclusively with them. Check weights for reloading scales, I am quite sure, were never heard of until the digital scales came out. If you are worried about your scale, weigh several good quality bullets, as has been suggested.
So have fun, but remember, dodn't ever walk in the dark. No telling what may be out there to get you!
Click to expand...


concern about +50,000 psi 3 inches from my face is "caution and prudence far beyond the realms of senseability"??

I respectfully disagree.

It takes 10 seconds to toss a 55 grain bullet on a scale/balance and confirm that your scale is correct and everything is operating properly.

I will grant you that a balance, as opposed to a scale is far less likely to go haywire, but why take a chance? The blade or rod on a balance can suffer damage easier than you think.

Then you turn around and say .... "The properly calibrated beam scale does not make mistakes."

Isn't that what we are talking about here? geting check weights and properly calibrating the beam scale??
 
rgv said:
concern about +50,000 psi 3 inches from my face is "caution and prudence far beyond the realms of senseability"??

I respectfully disagree.

It takes 10 seconds to toss a 55 grain bullet on a scale/balance and confirm that your scale is correct and everything is operating properly.

I will grant you that a balance, as opposed to a scale is far less likely to go haywire, but why take a chance? The blade or rod on a balance can suffer damage easier than you think.

Then you turn around and say .... "The properly calibrated beam scale does not make mistakes."

Isn't that what we are talking about here? geting check weights and properly calibrating the beam scale??
Click to expand...

Not quite right, or what I meant by being properly calibrated. The scale was properly calibrated in the factory. Set everything at zero, then every notch to set a weight in was calibrated to read the weight if was supposed to. In other words, your checking the scale, is to see that it reads zero. Then place the weights to read 50 grains, and it will weigh 50 grains, because those notches didn't, or couldn't move, or vary, since they left the factory.
I have weighed many, many bullets on my beam scale. Not to see if the scale read right, but to check bullet weights. I have weighed every bullet in a box of brand A, then every bullet in a box of brand B, then C. Some brands varried more than others, but the scale never varried.
In using the scale it is very easy to see if it is moving properly. If it is, then the scale will be reading correct, if it zeros on empty.
A normally cautious reloader will be concerned that he is using the right powder and that he hasn't used a double charge of a faster powder, and a few other important concerns. But whether his scale may be .05 grain off, in loading his 50,000 pound rifle loads, is not a valid concern.
 
H4831 said:
In my humble opinion, a great many of you new reloaders are absolutely scared of your shadow! You are taking caution and prudence far beyond the realms of senseability, with maters pertaining to reloading. A good example is this matter of check weights on a beam scale.
For a hundred years, at least, the world of commerce ran on beam scales, everthng from buying goods at stores, to farmers selling loads of wheat.
The properly calibrated beam scale does not make mistakes. It is acurate and the results have often been used in court cases.
Click to expand...

It just occurred to me that I have a set of VERY precise check weights (ASTM Class 1+) but have NEVER used them to check my balance beam scale!! (and I still use the beam scale regularly)

As mentioned above, I just never felt there was the need to do so. All I do is make sure that it zeros before and AFTER the reloading session.
 
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H4831 said:
In my humble opinion, a great many of you new reloaders are absolutely scared of your shadow!
Click to expand...

I loaded 20 plus .243 at the weekend. Each charge was weighed out on my Lee scale and then wieghed again on the RCBS scale.

Oh boy am I anal retentive. :D
 
If you really need to know your scale is working OK, just drop a known weight of Nosler Ballistic tip on the pan. These, in my experience are always within .1 grain of correct. FWIW, I don't check my balance beam scales with weights either. Regards, Eagleye.
 
My precision check weights cost me under a $1.

Just took a dozen nuts of different sizes and weighed them on a precision lab scale. Recorded the results in grams, then converted to grains.

Have nuts in your workshop? Know a kid in high school? Check weights made easy...
 
I've bought a Lyman check weight set at wss in edmonton for under $40 about a year ago to answer the original question.used it many times on the balance beam scale with the same results ,always on the money ,but nice to know anyways!
 
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